Bless the food or give thanks to God for the food?

[creator]

When we pray before eating, should we bless the food or give thanks to God for the food?

Some religions tend to only thank God for the food. It's common to hear LDS pray asking God to "bless the food to nourish and strengthen our bodies, and do us the good we need", even when they are about to eat food that is not nourishing or health-promoting at all. Is this simply because it's a cultural thing we never thought to question or because it's the most appropriate thing?

Based on multiple scriptures in the Bible, I'm inclined to just thanking God for the food.

"And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples..." (John 6:11)

I was pondering these thoughts recently and wanted to see what others think about it.

[JuneBug12000]

I do thank God for the food, but there are times when the offerings are iffy, not just junk food, but food safety (ward potluck?') and then I definitely want it to be blessed as well!

[EmmaLee]

I chose both, while leaning more towards thanking. I do feel comfortable asking him to bless it though, too, when I have in good faith done all I can to prepare healthy food for my family. The truth is that conspiring men have greatly tampered with and damaged our food supply in every possibly way - so no matter how careful we are about buying good, quality foods, there is going to be some damage to it that may harm our bodies. It would be wonderful if all of us could literally grow and raise all of the food that we eat (and maybe some here are doing that - which is awesome, if so!), but the current reality is that most of us probably aren't in positions to do that.

So while giving God thanks and showing gratitude for our food is most important to me, I have no problem asking him to bless it, as well - especially if I've taken the time and care to provide as healthy food as I'm able. Hope that makes sense!

[Pazooka]

And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread and thy water, and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. ~ Exodus 23:25

For everything created by God is good, and nothing to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. ~ 1 Timothy 4:4-5

[John Tavner]

1 Tim 4: 3They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected, 5because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.…

I thank God for the food and for sanctifying it (believing he will when I thank Him, because scripture says it will be sanctified by His word and prayer).

[Elizabeth]

Both.

[ajax]

Bless it to do what? The foods gonna do what it’s gonna do regardless. If you’re eating crappy food, no amount of blessing will change that.

I can see maybe in an extreme circumstance where the food maybe needs to stretch itself to miraculous levels (see loaves and fishes) but otherwise….

-Give thanks

-Bless the sacrament

[Prana]

Gratitude for our abundance will never fail

[4Joshua8]

I want to just give thanks, but it’s been trained into me to do both. I’m thanking only more and more.

[abijah`]

Bless it to do what? The foods gonna do what it’s gonna do regardless.

Give thanks
Bless the sacrament

There may very well be some validity to the above conclusions. Perhaps "blessing" a food = a sacramental context only.

Regarding culinary practise, Paul says something interesting:

1 Cor 10
If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.
But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience—
I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience?
If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

Paul appears to see a distinction between "giving thanks" and blessing it - in this context, "to idols".

A deeper understanding of the sacramental worldview, "blessing" the food = consecrating it to a specific deity for the purpose of a ritual marriage`feast of covenantal union with said deity.

The sacramental worldview of the scriptures: you become what you eat.

Examples:

Psalm 106
Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.

Hosea 9
Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved.

Psalm 115
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
8 They that make them become like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

Sacrament = covenant union with Jesus:

John 6
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him."

[BeNotDeceived]

Give thanks the #1 response is 57%

[Niemand]

Also pray for those who have little or nothing to eat.

[ransomme]

And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread and thy water, and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. ~ Exodus 23:25

For everything created by God is good, and nothing to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. ~ 1 Timothy 4:4-5

Then I suppose to have a righteous prayer one shouldn't try to bless highly processed poisons in prayer.

[Pazooka]

And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread and thy water, and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. ~ Exodus 23:25

For everything created by God is good, and nothing to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. ~ 1 Timothy 4:4-5

Then I suppose to have a righteous prayer one shouldn't try to bless highly processed poisons in prayer.

Yeah, well it does say “everything created by God is good.” Jalapeño cheddar Cheetos probably don’t fit that category.

[BeNotDeceived]

Also pray for those who have little or nothing to eat.

OTEC could of done that, but we chose evil OPEC instead.

Now #1 choice is 24 for 48%.

2448 again.

[ransomme]

And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread and thy water, and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. ~ Exodus 23:25

For everything created by God is good, and nothing to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. ~ 1 Timothy 4:4-5

Then I suppose to have a righteous prayer one shouldn't try to bless highly processed poisons in prayer.

Yeah, well it does say “everything created by God is good.” Jalapeño cheddar Cheetos probably don’t fit that category.

Haha, well hiw we use the things that God makes is another thing entirely.

And the fact that God's creations are "good" doesn't mean God's for one's health.

[ransomme]

And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread and thy water, and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. ~ Exodus 23:25

For everything created by God is good, and nothing to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. ~ 1 Timothy 4:4-5

Then I suppose to have a righteous prayer one shouldn't try to bless highly processed poisons in prayer.

Yeah, well it does say “everything created by God is good.” Jalapeño cheddar Cheetos probably don’t fit that category.

Haha, well how we use the things that God makes is another thing entirely.

And the fact that God's creations are "good" doesn't mean good for one's health.

[KerriM]

I started out just blessing it, that it would be nourishing and strengthening for our bodies.-tradition. Then I started to just thank the Lord for it after people would bring up some of the above arguments: it’s all junk food, it’s not the Sacrament, either it’s healthy or not and no amount of praying is going to change it. Then I read a story where someone could see in the spirit, and the food brought out at a restaurant had curses or something spiritual on it. It might have been in one of Doug Mendenhall's books. Anyways, it has made me look at blessing my food differently. So generally, if I get into habit mode, I do both. I try however to think about it more, and see if there’s a reason to do one, the other, or both. We should all be praying with intent anyways, and get out of the habit of saying what we always say.